Thurston, Mogwai, Tortoise on "American Life" Comp Indie rock and NPR aren't such strange bedfellows anymore, and this latest pairing of the two seems downright cozy. On November 7, Shout! Factory Records will release This American Life: Stories of Hope & Fear, a two disc set compiling segments from the nationally syndicated, Ira Glass-hosted, weekly radio program "This American Life", produced by Chicago's WBEZ.

Sounds fine and dandy for schoolteachers and sweater-knitters, but here's where it gets hep-to-the-max: most segments feature a story or an interview set against the music of underground and not-so-underground sensations like Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore, Mogwai, Tom Zé (remixed by Tortoise), the RZA, Blonde Redhead, Calexico, Ida, Philip Glass, Carly Simon, Morcheeba, and more.

Divided into two discs along Hope/Fear lines, the collection even features storytelling by the ever-popular David Sedaris and "The Daily Show" correspondent John Hodgman. As if that weren't groovy enough, Divya Srinivasan (of Sufjan-Illinois and Waking Life fame) designed that purty cover up there. Complex tracklist after the jump.

interesting. I've listened to that show. it gets quite personal at times ( w/ people telling their stories ).

there's one thing i've always believed in: one should find his/her niche by first knowing yourself and accepting who u are. it doesn't mean u shouldn't interact w/ people of other "niches". it only means u should be u first, and still stay open to new ideas.

it all sounds deep and all, but i think u could apply that to anything.

like rza for instance, he shouldn't try to go mainstream ever. i know going mainstream means more dough. but it would be unlikely that a producer like timbaland or jermaine dupri to have been featured on this kinda show. this goes to say what kinda producer/musician rza is. and his previous endeavors show that as well: the kinda movie he scores, the documentary he was a part of, some of the people he's worked w/.........